The current incarnation of the SmartThings hub, which probably won't look much different once Samsung's acquisition of the company comes to fruition (unless they finally decide that white, clunky plastic is passe).

Sam Machkovech

On Tuesday, Samsung announced that it would acquire Quietside, a manufacturer of air conditioners, heaters, and other HVAC appliances, for an undisclosed sum. This follows Samsung's purchase of smart home all-in-one solution SmartThings last week, an acquisition that had been hinted at in July, and the combination points to Samsung's desire to take over American homes by controlling their every device.

At first blush, the 100 percent acquisition of Quietside appears to merely streamline Samsung's operations, since the company already produces its own line of air conditioners—and has relied on Quietside to distribute those offerings in North America for over 15 years. Yet the Samsung announcement went so far as to hint at more to come: "[Samsung] also plans to unveil an enhanced HVAC product lineup that better reflects the needs of North American customers," it stated, though no timeline was attached to that sentence.

We can only assume that such a statement hints at the company's dreams of Samsung device interplay, with phones, watches, alarms, heaters, TVs, and more communicating with each other. As of now, Samsung's home appliance portfolio puts it in better position than its peers to consider taking over every corner of a home's electronics; where Google has Nest, Samsung has ovens and dryers. However, based on Samsung's "only Galaxy devices" compatibility track record, particularly with its Galaxy Gear offerings, we worry that Samsung will devour SmartThings' all-in-one home automation system and kill off compatibility with third-party products and protocols (a feature that, admittedly, was already thin enough when we reviewed the SmartThings hub earlier this year).